Finally getting to the ECU. Fixed the antenna a few days ago so this (and a power steering rack) is all that stands between my LS and perfection.

Anyway, getting the ECU out is a major pita, a sentiment that I do not feel was conveyed enough by the ECU sticky. A lady walking by my car thought I was a dead body with how long I had to lay out the passenger side to get to all the bolts.

Upon opening the ecu, the caps actually look fine. Ill still be replacing them as I came this far already, however, I noticed a thin greasy film all over the IC's and pcb inside. Is this normal? If not, should I just use some isopropyl to clean it off? Thanks!

 

It is quite normal. What you describe is not any grease but the conformal coating used to minimize resistive and corrosion problems. Without it, there would be problems like the development of resistive faults caused by the moisture/harsh environment, the metal whiskering and etc. When you replace capacitors, you also need to use the conformal coating which was discussed long time ago and there must be the thread about it somewhere on the Forum.

 

Ah thank you for clarifying! That thread was quite long and I didn't make it much past the first page.
With regards to the coating needing to be reapplied, I can't exactly go out and get some more as I just took my only car out of commission, do you think a small amount of dielectric grease could perform similarly? specifically is what I have on hand.
Alternatively, it doesn't look like I'll have to clean the board since none of the caps leaked somehow, might I get away with not needing to re coat the area if I don't remove what is already there?
Appreciate any input!